Similarities and Differences between Buddhism and Christianity - Research Paper Example

? Similarities and Differences between Buddhism and Christianity Introduction It goes withoutsaying that all the religions of the world are similar in their core and prime teachings. The principle of virtue and vice is almost the same in fundamentals of all religions. All religions teach welfare and betterment of humanity. Yet their followers have created certain differences which have been magnified in the name of religions and this act has separated and divided humanity into various factions and sects. Christianity and Buddhism are two big religions of the world. Buddhism is geographically restricted to Asia only, while Christianity is prevalent throughout the world. This paper would discuss certain similarities and differences found between the two. Similarities and differences There are many notable aspects of Buddhism that are similar to the Catholic faith and its traditions. The Five Moral Precepts of Buddhism, for example, compare closely to the Ten Commandments which have set out law for centuries: for Jews in the time of Moses, then later for disciples of Christ, and even for Christians today. The Five Moral Precepts include the refraining of murder, thievery, sexual misconduct, lying, and the consumption of intoxicants. Similarly, the Ten Commandments call for abstention of killing, stealing, adultery, as well as dishonesty. Although the Ten Commandments consist of more than these immoral actions, these aspects of Christianity and Buddhism were designed based on similar beliefs. The main book of rules or official set of regulations for Christianity is the bible, which has two parts, the New Testament and the Old Testament. Christ came to this world when Siddhartha Gotama was 29. He was born into a wealthy family and realized that only wealth could not fulfill his inner being so he started studying religion. At age 80 he died in happiness knowing he had created a new religion that has influenced the world. Buddha as he was named alter in his life took all the true and pure parts of all religions and put them together into a religion that was almost perfect in his eyes. The similarities between these two religions of the world are great. Both the religions are monotheistic and affirm that after death only those people shall gain the eternal salvation of heaven that adhered to the rules or commandments in this world. Both of these religions also praise, or in Buddhism's case, respect their messiah and ask for eternal salvation from their god. Buddhism is based on the beliefs of Buddha who was raised as a rich child who didn't know what pain, sickness, age, and death were until he demanded his father to allow him to exit the palace and view the town. When he went he saw an old man and asked his father what was wrong and only then did Buddha figure out that there are bad things in our world. At the end of his visit he saw a monk with an ancient, calm look upon his face that Buddha soon would have. After this incident his father exposed him to the world in every way and Buddha started studying religion. At first he was just interested in why people needed it but the more he studied it the more attached he became to it. He and his five followers did this in an effort to receive the answer of what is the only way to receive the ability to pass to heaven. After the incident under the tree word spread and through good deeds of other individuals he obtained a temple and many followers some of which were women. At the age of 35 he became a religious leader in Northeast India and for the next 45 years he taught Buddhism. Rites and Rituals In Christian community, Baptism takes place at a young age. Most infants taking place in Baptism are only a few months old. Baptism is all about welcoming a new member to the Christian community and letting them live the way Jesus lived his life. The ceremony of Baptism takes place in 6 parts. The parents and the selected godparents of the child are asked what their intentions are. Prayers are made and a couple of readings are taken out of the bible. The blessing of the child is then made and the Priest touches the child's forehead with the holy water. The water is a symbol of washing away a person's sins. The equivalent ceremony to Baptism in the Buddhist religion is known as Taking Refuge. This ceremony takes place after the person has really thought about what they are doing. The person involved in this ceremony is not an infant but are only allowed to take refuge when they are old enough to make their own decisions. The ceremony of Taking Refuge is held in seven parts. The initiate i.e. the person who is taking refuge in Buddhism thinks about all the stuff that Budda believes in and teaches. The initiate then ponders over refraining from all evil things in life. Incense is then presented and they pronounce a speech which involves them requesting for forgiveness. They then stoop and face the effigy of the Buddha and bow before it three times, each time touching their forehead and palms to the floor. The initiate admits the Three Refuges (Dharma, Buddha & Sangha) by reciting a vocalization in Pali language. They then agree to live by the five precepts which are like rules in life. These are: Pancha Shila 1. Avoid killing, or harming any living thing. 2. Avoid stealing -- taking what is not yours to take. 3. Avoid sexual irresponsibility, which for monks and nuns means celibacy. 4. Avoid lying, or any hurtful speech. 5. Avoid alcohol and drugs which diminish clarity of consciousness. To these, monks and nuns add... 6. One simple meal a day, before noon. 7. Avoid frivolous entertainments. 8. Avoid self-adornment. 9. Use a simple bed and seat. 10. Avoid the use of money. One can compare all these ten with the Ten Commandments: 1         I am the LORD your God, you shall have no other gods before me. 2         You shall not take the Name of the LORD your God in vain. 3         Keep holy the Sabbath day. 4         Honor your father and your mother. 5         You shall not kill. 6         You shall not commit adultery. 7         You shall not steal. 8         You shall not bear false witness. 9         You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. 10         You shall not covet your neighbor's goods. In Buddhism, the ceremony is finished after the monk gives the initiate a new name which has a meaning. This meaning is something that the initiate should try to fulfill during their lifetime. During the ritual of Baptism the child is sprinkled with water and the water symbolizes the cleansing away of sins. Water makes you clean and that is the theory behind Baptism that the water is cleaning away your sins. Being Baptized means that you have been blessed by the Priest & therefore God so you have become apart of the religious community. The initiate who is Taking Refuge is committing themselves to a life long journey of becoming a better person by being Buddhist. Taking Refuge is only the first step into becoming a better person. Christian funerals are generally performed within the gathering itself but this is not forever the case. The Holy Water is sprinkled over the coffin by the Priest to recall the community of the person's Baptism. A white cloth, known as a pall, is placed over the candle as another reminder of Baptism. The candle used at Easter is lit to remind those present of Christ. Prayers are offered. At the conclusion of the mass more holy water is sprinkled on the coffin and incense is burned. Prayers are made to bless the dead person so that they may go to heaven to be with God and blessings are also made over the community so that they too will be able to continue with their lives after the death of a friend or family member. The coffin is then taken to the place of burial where the last respects are paid to the deceased. The traditional Buddhist funeral only takes place in Tibet and this is known as a sky burial. Other types of Buddhist funeral can include water burial or cremation but sky burial is a type of funeral limited to Tibet and the Buddhist religion. When the person is dying Chapter 10 of 'Bodisatva's Way of Life' is read to the person. After death their mind & soul leaves their body to go into a state of limbo. The dead person’s body is carried into the mountains of Tibet and the Monk unclothes the body and begins to cut it up. He cuts the body’s flesh into small pieces and these pieces are thrown to feed the vultures. The bones are also cracked and fed to the vultures so that the whole body has vanished once by the end of ceremony. During a Christian funeral a lot of symbols are used in the ceremony. Holy water is sprinkled to remind the community of the person's Baptism which was what helped them to live their life by God's way. Candles are lit to represent the presence of Christ so that the community knows that he is there and that Christ will take the deceased away and up to heaven. Incense is burned because it is purifying the body because of the smoke. Also as the smoke rises it is taking the prayers of the mass up to heaven. A cross is also placed upon the coffin to remind the community of the way the person lived their life. Christians usually use these signs during their ceremonies and processions, while Buddhists apply the signs in their life, or during meditation and study. The Christian rituals include the celebration of Christmas, Easter, Sunday Masses and other similar rituals and ceremonies, and Buddhists have their rituals too. They include Offering of Light, Offering of Flowers and Offering of Incense. All these offerings are presented to Buddha's statues to show that people still follow his teachings. This would be strictly prohibited by any real Christian religion, as it involves creating idols, and is prohibited by the Bible's Ten Commandments. Chanting verses on the Buddha's Teachings is believed to give protection to those who listen to them which is different from Christian chanting which is only used in Masses and are simply used to praise The Lord, All-mighty. Sacred Texts The sacred texts of Buddhism and Christianity do not have much in common. The Christian main book, the Bible consists of passages and chapters written before and after Jesus' death. It consists of two main parts, the Old Testament, and the New Testament. The Buddhists sacred text is called the Pali Canon, which consists of three groups of discourses, called the Tripitaka, which consists of Sutra - saying of Buddha, Vinya - discipline of the brotherhood and Abidharma - a set of creeds based on essential teachings. The Bible teaches us the words of God, the teachings of Christ, talks about the Afterlife and Creation, The Pali Canon simply talks about Buddha's life, what he did, his thoughts, and reminds me more of a Biography, rather then a sacred text of a religion. There are other sacred texts including stories, myths and teachings of Buddha's disciples, but those are not considered as major and important as the Pali Canon. Christianity concentrates on The Bible more then any other minor sacred texts, while Buddhism considers all the minor texts as important as each other. The Christian Religion answers all the life's fundamental questions. If you search within Christianity, you will be able to find answers to questions like what is the meaning of life and how the world was created and why and is there life after death? Buddhism does not give these answers, it concentrates more on self-perfection of the soul and achieving awakening, only then one can understand the mysteries of the universe, but not many can achieve this, while in Christianity all and everyone is able to find answers to these questions. Christians believe that God created the world, he created hell and heaven, the two places where a human soul will spend its afterlife. Some believe that the meaning of life is for God to decide whether a person was good or bad and where will he end up, some think its is simply to help others during our lives. While no-one knows the right answer to these fundamental questions for sure, we may speculate or try to understand the Bible more closely to find the answers we seek. The main difference between Buddhism and Christianity in these questions is that Buddhists believe in reincarnation, where a human's soul will be reborn in a different body after death, and this process is only stopped by reaching Nirvana, a stage of complete enlightenment. Christians however believe that after death, the human soul will travel and be judged and either sent to Heaven, closer to God, or Hell, where Satan is. Ultimate peace of mind is achieved through deep meditation and self control, including self-denial. Meditation performs an important role in achieving Nirvana. Buddhist monks sometimes go and spend years living by themselves and meditating for most of their time, believing that such deep devotion will help them reach enlightenment and perfection. Some strive to become Buddha themselves, this is achievable through attaining enlightenment on their own, without the help of anyone else. This is considered the highest stage of awakening, and these Buddha are then allowed to go and teach others, and become spiritual leaders. Conclusion Buddhism and Christianity are two of the world's greatest and most influential religions. The Christian religion, like all other religions has its strengths and weaknesses in our modern society. Perhaps the strengths out weight the weaknesses as this is one of the largest religions in the world. Buddhism, Christianity and all of the other major world religions share a basic rule of behavior which governs how they are to treat others. Both of these religions are mostly accepted by people who are under pressure of the strong people. Buddhism, specifically, shares many notable similarities with Christian beliefs and therefore it is important to recognize their religion as valid and credible. Jesus and Buddha had similar lives and both performed miracles and healed many of their followers. There are many current issues on whether Jesus existed or not because of the great similarities between him and Buddha. Works Cited Barnes, Trevor . The Kingfishers Book of Religions. New York: kingfisher Publications, 1999. Breuilly, Elizabeth et al. Religions of the World: The Illustrated Guide to Origins, Beliefs, Traditions and Festivals. New York: Checkmark, 2005. Gwynne, Paul. World Religions in Practice. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008. Hitchcock, Susan. Geography of Religion. 1st ed. Washington: National Geographic Society, 2004. John A. Hardon Religions of the World; Volume I Image (1968) Read More